HBA-EDN, AMW H.B. 988 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 988
By: Dutton
Criminal Jurisprudence
3/19/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law provides that a person commits an offense of prostitution if
the person offers to engage, agrees to engage, or engages in sexual conduct
for a fee or if the person solicits another in a public place to engage the
person in sexual conduct for hire.  The punishment for such offenses is
either a Class A or Class B misdemeanor, depending upon whether the
defendant has a prior conviction, but these penalties may not be sufficient
to deter these activities.  House Bill 988 prohibits a person from
soliciting, offering, or engaging in prostitution in any traffic area and
increases the penalties for these offenses. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 988 amends the Penal Code to increase the penalties for certain
offenses of prostitution.  The bill increases the penalty for prostitution
from a Class B misdemeanor or Class A misdemeanor to a third degree felony.
The bill increases the penalty for promotion of prostitution from a Class A
misdemeanor to a second degree felony.  The bill  increases the penalty for
aggravated promotion of prostitution from a third degree felony to a second
degree felony.  The bill modifies the elements for the offense of
prostitution to provide that the offense be committed in any traffic area
and removes language that provides that the solicitation of another take
place in public. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.